Kingfisher Air signs deal for 3 planes

The UB group's Kingfisher Airlines, which is planning to launch operations in May, announced the signing of deals to purchase three Airbus A-319 aircraft.

The airline has already placed firm orders for a total of 33 aircraft from Airbus including 10 A-320s and three A-319s with options to buy 20 more planes.

Announcing the deal to acquire the three A-319s, Kingfisher Airlines chief Vijay Mallya said the 144-seater aircrafts "will complement the capabilities of the fleet and serve the needs of traffic on routes of Bangalore where these aircraft will be based."

In addition to these aircraft, the "high value" private carrier has also leased four brand new A-320-200 aircraft from Debis Air Finance, the leasing company of DaimlerChrysler.

The A-319s have a list price of Rs 673 crore ($153 million), taking the total value of the order to Rs 8,492 crore ($1.93 billion).

An airline spokesman said it would provide services and amenities that would be "the first of its kind in the domestic aviation market in the country."